Category: Trailers

When Disney’s 2013 animated film “Frozen” became an avalanche of an international blockbuster and fountain of memes, talk immediately turned to making a sequel for it; and not just any home-video follow-up like of old but a true theatrical-release continuation. True, there have been two shorts during the interim, but fans are really looking forward to “Frozen 2” which Disney pegged for 2019.

After a disappointingly hilarious “teaser” after the end credits of “Ralph Breaks the Internet” last year, “Frozen” followers can finally bask in the glory of the first official preview for the second film, released Wednesday, February 13.

In just about a minute and a half, the “Frozen II” sticker may have just cured some fans who may still have franchise fatigue from the original film and its subsequent shorts, plus intrigued bandwagon detractors by its more action-packed sequences and foreboding visuals. Let’s list the trailer’s important scene points and talk about them.

Elsa’s new getup – from the prim and restrained royal gown to her ice dress with thigh-high slit, Elsa in “Frozen” evolved from a paranoid fidgety lady to a sassy woman reveling in freedom; her reconciliation with her sister Anna aside, Elsa maintained her snowflake-pattern dress fashion with only minimum seasonal modifications; for the sequel the Queen of Arendelle finally goes significantly different with what appears to be an ice pantsuit with leggings, for greater mobility

Elsa’s sea run training – the escape across from the coronation was one of the many stunning visual sequences from the first film, done by a scared witless Elsa across a relatively calm fjord; having already worked past her issues Elsa looks more confident in testing the potential of her ice powers further by trying to navigate a stormy sea; but why her intense physical exercise?

The strange ice diamonds – as Anna is witness, Arendelle palace seems to have been suddenly surrounded by numerous snowflake-like diamonds; perhaps they have something to do with her sister; but where did they come from?

Kristoff’s reindeer army – yes, Kristoff is never too far from his trusty reindeer mount Sven; but now it seems they have to answer a situation that needs lots of hoofed reinforcements; what do you think?

Anna’s “Cliffhanger” act – famously remembered for initially failing at rock climbing in “Frozen,” Anna certain seems to match Elsa for picking up some action girl physical skills; is there a motivation for their peak form?

The unquenchable fire – there has never been a physical flame that Elsa’s ice cannot quench, until now; and if she can’t put out these strangely-colored fires, Olaf might pay the price

The girl and the figure – we see a new brown-haired girl walking along an autumnal forest until she’s startled by a figure bursting through the leaves, as if yanked up; could the first one be the “girlfriend” desired by LGBT Elsa-fans for their queen?

Where are they going? – Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Sven seem to be taking leave of Arendelle in order to go into a new land that is in autumn; what could be waiting for them ahead?

The ambush – great danger instincts, reflexes and swordplay on Anna’s part; but who or what was that which tried to ambush their adventuring party at the end of the teaser?

After occasional teases all throughout this year and the last, Disney is at last ready to reveal the first visual look on another of the latest upcoming live-action adaptations, Aladdin. Due to come out by March next year, the movie has gotten out an initial teaser trailer for our consideration.

The cinematography is rather similar to the first teaser for 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, which was first unveiled the year before that. Sweeping desert vistas with a distant view of Agrabah is then followed by the magical spectacle of the Cave of Wonders, both outside and in, and a closer look at Mena Massoud in character as Aladdin ready to claim the magic lamp.

What’s also attention-grabbing with the Aladdin trailer is the magnificent presence of music cues throughout, sweet orchestrations of the various musical numbers from the 1993 original animated film. They are:

Arabian Nights – desert, Agrabah, Cave of Wonders entrance

A Friend Like Me – Cave of Wonders interior, title, Aladdin before the lamp

Aladdin premieres on May 2019, after the live-action remake of Dumbo in March.

Marvel Rising is a new franchise being pushed by Disney and Marvel Animation to bring the characters and stories of Marvel Comics to a new generation of fans. Its initial big offering, the TV film subtitled Secret Warriors, premiered on both The Disney Channel and Disney XD last September 30.

But prior to the release of Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors, Marvel Animation also produced a web-series for the franchise, with the subtitle Initiation. In six episodes it shines the spotlight on the primary characters of Marvel Rising prior to the events of Secret Warriors that assembled them into a team.

Here’s a list of episodes for Marvel Rising: Initiation, which premiered in its entirety on August 13 at Disney XD.

During the run of the first season of the Ducktales remake on Disney XD, and then after moving to the Disney Channel, there were a series of online shorts that were uploaded to further promote the animated series as well as various Disney original programming. One of these short web-series is Webby Reacts, starring Webby (Kate Micucci) reacting to various Disney Channel programming. Hilarity ensues.

Each episode runs only about a minute or so, with Webby giving her snarky two cents on a variety of Disney Channel content. Here’s a short list of her episodes.

“Webby Reacts To: Andi Mack” – “Bex’s Secret” – May 8, 2018

“Webby Reacts To: Andi Mack” – “Ummm” – May 10, 2018

“Webby Reacts To: ZOMBIES” –May 12, 2018

“Webby Reacts To: Stuck in the Middle” – May 16, 2018

“Webby Reacts To: Raven’s Home” – May 18, 2018

“Webby Reacts To: Descendants 2” – May 24, 2018

“Webby Reacts To: Descendants 3” – May 26, 2018

And to make things short, Disney Channel was kind enough to upload a compilation of all episodes in a single video for viewing.

Ducktales will start its second season – plus a special Christmas episode – on October 20 only on the Disney Channel.

Between April and May is the great milestone for Marvel Studios, the in-house filmmaking arm of Marvel Entertainment which conceived the mammoth Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man hit cinemas on May 2, 2008 following an earlier Sydney premiere on April 14. Fast-forward to 2018, and the MCU, one decade old.

Now, they’ve already made some videos to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the MCU, but thus far it’s been about the studio that makes the films and its stars. This time around, a new special video from Marvel Entertainment flips the perspective around, celebrating the MCU’s greatest strength: the fandom.

The one-minute video features scenes from across the 18 installments of the MCU thus far then shifts to scenes of fan crowds at theater showings, cons (SDCC Hall H!), autograph signings, you name it. The sheer enthusiasm and fanaticism of Marvel followers at these events is evident and simply overwhelming.

Meanwhile, various actors and actresses who have starred in the MCU films, led by Robert “Tony Stark/Iron man” Downey Jr. himself, step up to the mike to thank the fans that have flocked to their films and event appearances, making the franchise the successful juggernaut that it has grown into.

All this leads into the reminder that the latest chapter of the MCU, Avengers: Infinity War, is due out two weeks from now on April 27. Note that it’s been hyped as an ending for the storyline of the franchise as laid in three “phases”, so it’s definitely a must-watch.